And They Were Roommates

2/5/2019 12:49 pm

Summary:

It was Jade’s idea for Artemis to move in with them. A multishot story detailing how Artemis came to live with the Nguyen-Harpers.

Jade had been the one to suggest it.

Three adults and a toddler in one apartment wasn't the ideal living situation. If Artemis had been in her right mind, she would have said no. Even in her current state of mind, she should have said no. She had absolutely no business intruding on what Jade and Roy called a marriage.

"Earth to Artemis," her sister's voice teased from the kitchen. Artemis didn't want to know what she was doing in there. Not cooking, she prayed. The last time Jade had cooked in her kitchen, she'd set the stove on fire. Jury was still out on whether or not it had been intentional.

"I'm thinking about it," she sighed, looking up at the ceiling from her position on the couch. There was a stain on the ceiling. She vaguely remembered the sound of her own laughter, her sides hurting after her boyfriend had tripped over Brucely and sent a takeout box of curry flying at the ceiling. "Are you both still living in that shithole?"

"A shithole is no place to raise a baby."

Artemis sighed. In the turn of events, she'd nearly forgotten about her niece. It was still strange to think about, an assassin and the definition of anger management raising a kid together. Lian would need extensive amounts of therapy, that was a given.

"You know, most girls get a haircut after a breakup. They don't move in with their sister and her husband."

Jade finally exited the kitchen, dragging with her a full bag of trash. She left it by the front door and wiped her hands on her jeans. "Are you done being dramatic?"

"No." Artemis turned on her side, finally facing her sister. "I think I'm going to go out for Broadway."

Jade snorted. "Good luck with that. You're a shit singer."

"Won't argue with you there," she mused, watching carefully as Jade came closer. She hadn't been too surprised when Jade climbed through her living room window. She'd been popping in every few weeks, making sure she was alive. They didn't talk about it; she usually just showed up, cleared a bit of clutter while exchanging a few words and then she left. Today had been different; today she'd asked her to move in.

Jade pushed Artemis' feet off the couch so she could sit, just like she'd used to do when they were younger. "Your lease is almost up."

"I'm impressed; did you threaten my landlord with a sai to find out that information?"

"I'm offering you a rent-free living situation. There shouldn't be much to think about." If Artemis hadn't valued her life as much, she would have told her that she was starting to sound like their mother. That would have sent Jade scurrying away in annoyance. While part of her wanted Jade to leave, she kept quiet.

"There's a catch. You just haven't mentioned it yet," Artemis said, slowly lifting her feet onto Jade's lap. The older girl made a face, but didn't shove her feet away.

"No catch."

Based off past experience, Artemis found that very hard to believe. "Rent?"

"Paid for."

"Utilities?"

Jade shrugged, looking over her fingernails and picking out a bit of dirt out from under them. "Ditto."

"Groceries? Chores?"

"Roy cooks and cleans. Didn't I get lucky?" Jade cooed, looking over at Artemis with an impish grin. It was odd to see her sister so happy, so… normal. She never would have pegged Jade as the domestic type. Then again, she never would have expected Jade to have a kid, and yet here they were.

Finally, Jade relented and sighed as if in deep consideration. "Fine. If you must do something to contribute, you can babysit."

"Babysitting? That's it?"

"That's it."

Artemis didn't answer immediately. She tore her gaze away from her sister and looked at the wall, the picture of her, Wally and Brucely. It would be easy to say no; Jade probably wouldn't care either way. Her lease was up at the end of the month, but she could find somewhere to go. Moving back home with her mother wouldn't be ideal, but it would work in a pinch. Zatanna would take her if she asked. M'gann too. It wasn't like she didn't have anywhere else to go. Anywhere she chose would certainly be quieter than living with Jade. Less strange.

She could imagine it now; Lian, wailing from her crib at two in the morning while she threw a pillow over her head to try and sleep. Roy, a constant presence of bitterness and destruction. Jade disappearing whenever things got too hard. The thoughts made her want to scream, and she hadn't even said yes yet.

Jade didn't push her to answer, she was good about that. When she'd noticed that Artemis had gone into her own world, she'd pulled her phone out and kept her hands busy. Artemis watched her for a few seconds before looking back to the picture. Her mother, Zatanna, M'gann, they'd all hover. With the best intentions, of course, but they'd still hover. She couldn't live with that.

"Do I have to sleep on the couch?" Artemis asked, hating how her voice cracked.

Jade looked up from her phone. "No, we moved into a bigger place. A two bedroom."

"Where will Lian sleep?"

"With Roy and I," Jade responded, turning her attention back to her phone. Artemis pursed her lips in a hard line as she realized that her sister was playing Solitaire.

"And he's okay with that?"

She shrugged. "He wants to try 'co-sleeping'. So there goes our sex life."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that." She sat up and moved her feet off Jade so she could get comfortable. "Am I really in that bad a place?"

Jade set her phone down. Her lips parted and closed a couple of times, as if she was trying to choose her next words carefully. Artemis wasn't used to seeing her so unsure of herself.

"I'm worried about you Sis," she finally said.

"So that bad," Artemis responded, trying her best to smile but falling short. "The dog comes with me."

Jade sneered, looking to the snoring heap curled up by the door. "Is that negotiable?"

"Lian will love him. Dogs are great for babies."

"Great," Jade sighed in a manner that was all too similar to her husband's. "Roy will be thrilled."

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